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FALL 2012! |
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A profound odyssey of a young college graduate who enlists in the military
to avoid being drafted, becomes a Green Beret Airborne Ranger, and is sent
to Vietnam where he is plunged into high-risk, deep-penetration operations
under contract to the CIA—work for which he was neither specifically trained
nor psychologically prepared, yet for which he is ultimately highly
decorated.
Highly classified, long-range interdiction and assassination missions (of
which very little is known to this day), leave Moore in profound isolation,
sometimes in a country where he is officially not supposed to be, far from
timely rescue and knowing that the information he's risking to retrieve is
at best redundant, and that each time his team is sent out, carrying no
identification and wearing clothing made in China, their lives are
considered anonymous and officially expendable.
His life in the cloying embrace of the jungle, where even the prettiest
flowers are poisonous, becomes a paradoxical labyrinth: the hard-learned
language of the jungle's sounds speaks equally to both sides, the verdant
canopy acts both as cover and a hazard enabling the enemy to work in close;
the missions are given as important, yet the war is pointless. Moore
survives his combat assignments by the thinnest measure of improbabilities.
But survives he does.
Upon his return, he seeks sanctuary in a Scottish monastery and then works
as a rock drill operator in a large industrial gold mine in Canada, and
ultimately a career in television and film.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
John Rixey Moore is a veteran actor for television (Falcon Crest;
One Life to Live; The Young and The Restless; The Bold and, The Beautiful),
feature films (Clear and Present Danger; A Home of Our Own; Executive
Decision) and has been the on-camera announcer in some 500 network
commercials. He competed internationally for several years in the 1980s on
the US Bobsled team, served as boat tune-up crew and sail advisor for the
America's Cup races in the '70s and has flown his Beech Bonanza across the
US some twenty-three times.
John can be seen from time to time on The History Channel being
interviewed on the crop circle phenomenon and on the subject of UFO's. An
amateur historian, he enjoys walking ancient sites in Europe and maintains
an extensive collection of antique books and household displays of medieval
weapons.
EXCERPTS FROM THE BOOK
"By the seventh day, we were exhausted from the unremitting nervous pressure and were all getting low on food. The radio hung on my back with the weight of another person. My pants were badly torn, having given out at the knees, and I had to tie them to my legs to keep them from flapping. The oppressive risk, the knowledge that we were expendable, and my nagging suspicion that we might even be engaged in a deliberate sacrifice, had built until it became a living presence with substance and dimension of its own.
"Finally, there came a moment, a quick stirring of awareness, when I knew instinctively that we had passed the delicate balance point between pressing on and survival. Despite a certain provisional adjustment to the growing imminence of doom, my questions about the decisions that lay behind this assignment had grown into scrupulous anger. I just picked a moment and signaled that we were done."
REVIEWS
Some men lead an exciting, stimulating life of high adventure. John Rixey
Moore has somehow packed at least three of these lives into one. —Andy
Shrader, writer of the Antarctic feature film script, Ice Men
An epic tale.—Brian Williams, producer
John Moore takes you on a ride that grabs you and does not let you
go.—David Hadley, actor, China Beach, and, Quantum Leap
A compelling story told with extraordinary insight, disconcerting reality,
and engaging humor. A most amazing saga!—Ron Russell, author, Don Carina: World War II Heroine
John captures his endlessly terrifying journeys through multiple
reconnaissance missions in Vietnam by putting you into his own intimate
experience, with sensory descriptions more realistic than virtual reality,
perfectly seasoned with deep thoughtfulness, a disarming wit, and an
unexpected charm. —Roy Samuelson, actor
Moore plunges us deep into the jungles of Southeast Asia as we walk, crawl,
and sweat with him on excruciatingly dangerous missions, just hoping to get
back alive! The mind-expanding discourse about life on the edge, the
emotional tension it engenders, and the places it takes you, shows what a
compelling writer he is. —Cliff Potts, actor, Once an Eagle; Silent
Running; and, Wild Hearts
Intensely personal and perceptive. You'll never forget this book! —Leon
Logothetis, host, producer, best-selling author, Amazing Adventures of a
Nobody
John Moore fills this memoir with craft, immediacy, and authenticity. Simply
the best Vietnam narrative I have ever read.—Tony Perri, Producer
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